GREAT STOCKING STUFFER!!

In "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix," Harry returns for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts and discovers that much of the wizarding community is in denial about the teenager's recent encounter with the evil Lord Voldemort, preferring to turn a blind eye to the news that Voldemort has returned. Fearing that Hogwarts' venerable Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, is lying about Voldemort's return in order to undermine his power and take his job, the Minister for Magic, Cornelius Fudge, appoints a new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher to keep watch over Dumbledore and the Hogwarts students. But Professor Dolores Umbridge's Ministry-approved course of defensive magic leaves the young wizards woefully unprepared to defend themselves against the dark forces threatening them and the entire wizarding community, so at the prompting of his friends Hermione and Ron, Harry takes matters into his own hands. Meeting secretly with a small group of students who name themselves "Dumbledore's Army," Harry teaches them how to defend themselves against the Dark Arts, preparing the courageous young wizards for the extraordinary battle that lies ahead.


Those magical kids return with their obligatory authority figure adults in tow. Only they're not so little anymore and as the last movie proved, they're all well on their way to no longer being kids. Whatever plot lines director David Yates chooses to chase, it's essential that he makes following their slow bloom into adulthood a priority while at the same time avoiding the discussion of things like oh, say, condoms.

I'm not a huge fan of the last movie, but that's one thing that Goblet of Fire's director Mike Newell got right. The awkwardness of puberty, their newfound interest in the opposite sex. Watching these kids grow up on screen is what's most interesting about the Harry Potter series to anyone over the age of twelve, not their bag of magical tricks.

The seriesï new director, as mentioned above, is David Yates. With each new director comes a new, distinctive style. Thatï's a plus really, it gives every movie its own unique energy. But this is the first truly high profile film Yates has ever touched, and itï's certainly his first big-budget blockbuster. Since Columbus, that seems to be the route Warner Brothers is going with their Harry Potter directors. Both of the last two helmers had similar, low-budget resumes and it�s worked well so far. The real difference in Yates is that he's the Potter franchise's first British director. Odd when you consider there's not an American in sight when you check out the cast.

Expect more of the same from the fifth Harry Potter. Only Cuaron's movie, the third one, has distinguished itself from the pack as anything special. The rest have been entertaining but ultimately mediocre, and the sad thing is that Harry's hardcore fans seem to prefer that. Mediocre I suppose, is better than bad. The films have maintained a consistent level of quality, and thats more than most other long-running movie franchises can claim.



A MUST BUY
9/10

Better than the Book

This is one of the very few times that I felt that the movie was better than the book. Order of the Phoenix was the only book I did not rate Excellent, but I feel this movie rates it.

Unlike the book, which I feel was Rowling's one and only drop into "middle book funk", this movie can stand on its own.

The Ministry of Magic, in an attempt to keep Harry Potter quiet, assign Delores Umbridge to the school. Although Umbridge is never specifically mentioned as being a Death Eater, loves to leave people in perpetual misery. Later in the series, she is an inquisitor working for the Ministry under Voldermort's command.

Much of the pain and anguish she passes out like candy in the book is thankfully left out of the movies. She still her magic quill that, when used, uses the writer's blood for ink. This has the side affect of etching the words in the skin of the writer as well. She also posts an almost infinite number of decrees to dominate the school. Whereas the book went into endless detail of these and other tortures, the movie was able to successfully convey the full depth of her psychosis without boring the reader to death in the process.

This also kept the movie from being quite as dark as the book. The characters in the movie are clearly on the defensive, but they never give up. The climatic battle at the end feels more like a costly draw than a pointless loss of one of Harry's closest friends.

The actors and actresses continue to perform magnificently. I simply can not imagine anyone else playing the parts of Harry, Hermione, the Weasleys, Snape or McGonagall. Imelda Stauton was perfect as Delores Umbridge, as was Evanna Lynch as the quirky Luna Lovegood. Gary Oldman, who I thought was over the top in Prisoner of Azkaban, did wonderfully here as Sirius Black. I feel Michael Gambon does well as Albus Dumbledore. And there is over a score of secondary characters of which this movie would not work if they were not top notch themselves.

The script writers did well in condensing the much too long book into a few simple effects. A single shot of hundreds of framed decrees hanging on the wall outside the Great Hall, limiting the Umbridge torture scenes, combining the Weasly rebellion with the O.W.L. tests expertly wrapped up entire chapters into single scenes. I also appreciates using Daniel Radcliff's talents as a actor to demonstrate his angst as opposed to the self-destructive patterns Harry has in the book.

A few things could have been better. Harry's hair is neatly combed, something that never happens in the books. Also, the waith-like forms the Death Eaters take in the big fight at the end I felt was over the top. The special effects otherwise great, but they should have left well enough alone.

John Holland-author of The Necklace of Terrersylvanous

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Blu-Ray

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is based off the mega selling book by J.K. Rowlin. With this being the longest book from the Harry Potter series alot of stuff is left out both for the good and bad. However it seems as more movies are released in this series the more the films start sticking to the story line of the books. If your a fan of the Harry Potter books you should enjoy the films as long as you go into it not expecting the movie to cover the whole book. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is a fun family oriented movie that the whole family will enjoy. The movie is somewhat lengthy due to trying to capture as much of what happens in the books as possible however it comes very short on doing this(the movies about 2 1/2 hrs in length). The Blu-Ray version is no different than the original DVD release other than the heightened color definition and resolution you would expect from Blu-Ray. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone with a family or some one who is just looking for a good story and don't want to read the 870 page book. As far as Blu-Ray is concerned you need to have a 720P or 1080P Hi-Def television to fully enjoy the clarity of this movie.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

As the Harry Potter movie series moves closer and closer to its final movie...the movies seem to be getting grittier, dirtier, and just straight up dark.

Pretty much everything worked great for me, except the first scenes of the dementor attack, i think it could have been so much better and more intense.

The rest is great, Imelda Stauton was amazing as Dolores Umbridge, a great performance, i hope they bring her back for the seventh movie, would be great to see her again.

It doesn't have much action but is ok, is mostly character driven. The trio has improved their craft, especially Daniel Radcliffe, although the best of the three is still Emma Watson.

The special effects were incredible, especially in the ministry battle, wich in my opinion was the best scene of the movie. The music was great.

Overall a good movie, the Bluray disc is great, could have had more extras like the goblet of fire dvd, but is satisfying.

The Dark Side of Mr. Potter

This movie is the first one from the new director and it is simply stunning. Within the first 5 minutes you can already sense how dark life is becoming for Mr. Potter. All of your favorite characters are back and a sinister presence is once again returning to Hogwarts. For fans of the series or anyone who wants to jump in now, this movie has it all. MUST BE SEEN ON BLU-RAY TO REALLY ENJOYED THE QUALITY OF THIS MOVIE!!!!! This movie had me on the edge of my seat and I am a 26 year old man. My daughter and I watched it together. I can not wait until the new one comes out in the theatre. Can the next one be as dark and as sinister as this one??? Here's to hoping we found out soon enough!